Amygdalin: Nutzen oder Risiko?

Zusammenfassung

Die Komplementär- und Alternativmedizin (CAM) ist oftmals in die Behandlung von Tumorerkrankungen eingebunden. Tatsächlich ist ihre Popularität in den letzten Jahrzehnten stetig angestiegen. 80 % der amerikanischen und 50 % der europäischen Tumorpatienten wenden CAM begleitend oder anstelle der konventionellen Therapie an. Dennoch ist das Wissen über die Wirkeffektivität von CAM dürftig. Die Diskrepanz zwischen Anwendung und tatsächlichem Benefit wird insbesondere beim cyanogenen Diglucosid Amygdalin deutlich, das in den Kernen der Spezies Rosaceae angereichert vorliegt. In den 1970er-Jahren repräsentierte Amygdalin eines der populärsten nicht-konventionellen Antitumor-Verfahren. Alleine im Jahr 1978 konsumierten 70.000 amerikanische Krebspatienten diese Substanz. Ob Amygdalin aber überhaupt als antitumorales Agens angesprochen werden kann, ist unklar. Befürworter betrachten Amygdalin als natürliches Heilmittel, Gegner hingegen verneinen diese Eigenschaft und warnen vor toxischen Nebeneffekten. Der Übersichtsartikel fasst das Wissen um diese Substanz zusammen.

Summary

Battling cancer, for many, includes the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM popularity has steadily increased over the past decades and up to 80 % of American and more than 50 % of European cancer patients use CAM together with, or in place of, conventional therapy. However, information about the therapeutic efficacy of CAM is meager. The discrepancy between use and factual benefit is particularly apparent with respect to the cyanogenic diglucoside amygdalin, present in the fruit kernels of the Rosaceae species. Amygdalin was one of the most popular, non-conventional, anti-cancer treatments in the 1970s and by 1978 70,000 US cancer patients had used amygdalin. However, whether amygdalin indeed acts as an anti-tumor agent is not clear. Proponents consider amygdalin a natural cancer cure, whereas opponents warn that amygdalin is ineffective and even toxic. The review article summarizes current knowledge of this compound.

Schlüsselwörter

Amygdalin - Laetrile - antitumorale Wirkung - präklinische und klinische Studien - Toxizität

Keywords

amygdalin - laetrile - anti-tumor efficacy - preclinical and clinical studies - toxicity

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